$15,000 Diamond Contacts Offer a Real Twinkle in Your Eye

In America woman vie to get a diamond on their ring finger, but in India women could soon be clamoring to literally make their eyes sparkle with diamond and gold-encrusted contact lenses.

“Instead of offering a diamond ring to propose, people will use diamond-studded contact lenses,” Dr. Chandrashekhar Chawan predicted in an interview with “Today” discussing his blingy new product.

The Shekhar Eye Research optometrist is the mastermind behind the $15,000 “eye jewelry” that’s been making headlines and he believes it’s won’t just be a big with the Bollywood industry, but that the appeal of glistening eyes will have a wide reach.

“Look at Lady Gaga and her followers,” Dr. Chawan said. “People take time to digest [new fashion], until some celebrity starts using it.”

While reviews on this new eyewear trend have been many and mixed, with some people even calling it downright “scary,” perhaps the comfort and safety of inserting lenses with an 18 carat gold plate studded with 18 diamonds and glued to a device developed for the treatment and management of corneal disorders should be the main focus. The lenses, known as Boston Scleral lenses are usually prescribed for people with severe eye disease who have no other option.
Dr. Chawan claims his invention is “very safe” and advises the lenses should be sterilized before insertion and removed before going to sleep, but others aren’t as sure about the risks.

Dr. Rajesh Khanna, a cornea and refractive surgeon, expressed his concerns during an interview with “Today.”

“We should not introduce harmful foreign objects, however shiny they may be, into our eyes,” said Dr. Rajesh Khanna explained. He worries that the amount of maintenance will pose a problem for people who aren’t properly trained in wearing these types of bulky lenses.

The limited edition lenses will be custom made in four designs of diamonds on white gold, diamonds on yellow gold, just white gold and yellow gold, according to the company’s press release.

And even if the idea is a tad out-there, Dr. Chawan plans to do good with the money made from each purchase. For every pair sold, he says one poor patient suffering from Stevens Johnson Syndrome will be give free treatment at Shekhar Eye Research.